Name: ____________________________________ Class ...



Name: ____________________________________ Class: __________ Date: __________

Science Fair Project Proposal

The first step in completing this year’s science fair project is to complete a project proposal. This proposal has many steps. Each step is worth points towards a first and second quarter project grade. (The science fair project itself will be a third quarter project grade.)

First Quarter Project Grade:

Part 1: Project Topic (10 points) Due on: ____________________

Part 2: Works Cited (25 points) Due on: ____________________

Part 3: Project Mind Map (65 points) Due on: ____________________

Part 1: Project Topic (10 points)

The following worksheet is designed to help you organize your thoughts for your science fair project. The first thing you need to do is decide upon a project topic. You will spend a lot of time working on this project so it is important to choose a topic that interests you. Do not worry about what type of experiment you can design from your topic. We can work to make almost any topic into an experiment.

The topic you choose should not be overly broad, but not too narrow either. For example is you like the outdoors: ‘Nature’ is too broad of a topic. The topic of ‘Deciduous Forests’ or ‘Beech Trees’ would be better choices. However, the topic of ‘the beech tree in my front yard’ is too narrow. I highly suggest talking to me about your topic before you start researching.

My Project Topic: ______________________________________________________________

This topic interests me because…

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Student’s Signature: ___________________________________

Parent’s Signature: ____________________________________

***After approval, this project topic will be the only one accepted on the due date. Do not submit a project proposal unless you are sure this is what you want to do.

Teacher’s Signature: ___________________________________

Proposal Submitted on Time: _____ Yes _____ No # of days late ___ (-5 each day)

Project Proposal Part 1: _____ Approved _____ Revise and Resubmit

Part 2: Works Cited (25 points)

The next step in your science fair project is research. You cannot design an experiment if you know nothing about your topic! Go to the library. Look online. Take notes as you read about your topic; write down your sources of information. Find out as much about your topic as you can. You must find at least 4 different sources of information. Your sources should be varied - in other words you may not have 4 websites as resources, but 2 websites, a magazine, and a book would be acceptable. You must use at least 2 different types of media sources. Please remember that it is necessary to evaluate your sources. Websites like “Yahoo! Answers” and “Wikipedia” are not good sources of information.

List your sources of information in a Works Cited using proper MLA format. Staple your Works Cited to this packet and turn it in on the due date.

Student’s Signature: ___________________________________

Parent’s Signature: ____________________________________

Teacher’s Signature: ___________________________________

Proposal Submitted on Time: _____ Yes _____ No # of days late ___ (-5 each day)

Project Proposal Part 2: _____ Approved _____ Revise and Resubmit

Part 3: Project Mind Map (65 points)

Organize your research into a mind map. Write the information in your own words. Make sure to use color, pictures, and show the connections between ideas. You mind-map should be full of information on your topic. It can be hand-drawn or completed on the computer. Staple your mind map to this packet and turn it in on the due date.

Student’s Signature: ___________________________________

Parent’s Signature: ____________________________________

Teacher’s Signature: ___________________________________

Proposal Submitted on Time: _____ Yes _____ No # of days late ___ (-5 each day)

Project Proposal Part 1: _____ Approved _____ Revise and Resubmit

Sample Mind Map

Second Quarter Project Grade:

Part 4: Question Development (30 points) Due on: _____________________

Part 5: Experimental Design (70 points) Due on: _____________________

Part 4: Question Development (30 points)

Next you will need to pick something from your research that you can test. What part of your research interests you? Think about how things change in your topic. What could you manipulate as a variable? How could you model something about your topic? I highly suggest that you sit down with me and discuss your research ideas to come up with an experimental question. Your question must be specific and testable.

Example of a good question:

What effect do daily weather conditions have on chipmunk activity between 4pm and

6pm in a backyard population?

What is the problem or question you would like to test?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What does your research tell you about your problem? How does your question relate to things scientists already know?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What do you predict is the answer to your question? (What is your hypothesis?) Use the if…, then…, because… format.)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student’s Signature: ___________________________________

Parent’s Signature: ____________________________________

Teacher’s Signature: ___________________________________

Proposal Submitted on Time: _____ Yes _____ No # of days late ___ (-5 each day)

Project Proposal Part 1: _____ Approved _____ Revise and Resubmit

Part 5: Experimental Design (70 points)

How do you plan to answer your question? Write out the basic steps of your experiment. You may need to add more details later to fully explain what to do. For now I just need a rough idea.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What is your independent variable? ________________________________________________

What is your dependent variable? __________________________________________________

How will you measure your dependent variable? ______________________________________

What materials will you need in order to conduct your experiment? Use as many or as few spaces as you need to.

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

What problems/setbacks/hold-ups do you think may be a factor in your experiment? (i.e. certain materials may be hard to obtain, your experiment might take too much time, etc.)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

***After approval, this project topic will be the only one accepted on the due date. Do not submit a project proposal unless you are sure this is what you want to do.

The Middle School Science Fair will be held on ________________________________. Students are encouraged to participate in the event by being present to talk with judges about their projects from _____________. Students who attend the science fair and converse with fair judges will earn 10 extra credit points to be added to their project grade. In addition students will have a chance to compete for prizes and awards in the fair! Further information about this event will be given closer to the event date.

Student’s Signature: ___________________________________

Parent’s Signature: ____________________________________

Teacher’s Signature: ___________________________________

Proposal Submitted on Time: _____ Yes _____ No # of days late ___ (-5 each day)

Project Proposal Part 1: _____ Approved _____ Revise and Resubmit

Third Quarter Project Grade:

Science Fair Project Display (100 points) Due on: _______________

|Part |Description |Example |Done? |

|Title | Your title must be related to your | ex) That Darn Cat! | |

|5 points | project and cannot be your | ex) Watermania | |

| | question. Be creative! | | |

|Introduction | basic ideas explored in the project | In this project…. This experiment | |

|15 points | summary of relevant research!! | will test… My research on this | |

| | | topic said… | |

|Problem | Write your problem as a specific question. | Look at your project proposal! | |

|5 points | | | |

| | What did you think the answer to your question | ex) If the cat food can was closed | |

|Hypothesis | Was BEFORE you did your experiment | the cat would not be able to | |

|5 points | (its okay to be wrong!) | find his food because… | |

| | | ex) 15 cats | |

|Materials | List all of the things you used to | 15 cups cat food | |

|5 points | complete your experiment. | 1 plastic container with a lid | |

| | | 1 plastic container with no lid | |

| | Write out the steps you used to | Remember how we have written | |

|Procedure | complete your experiment. | specific/detailed steps to explain | |

|10 points | You must use details! | experiments in class. | |

| |Write down and display your results. | | |

|Results/Data | * If your results are observations: | ex) Day 1: plants were green | |

|20 points | 1. Describe each observation in | Day 2: plants were green with | |

| | in complete sentences. | yellow spots. | |

| | 2. Show a photograph, a drawing, | ex) The cat sniffed and scratched | |

| | or pieces of what you did. | at the closed container. | |

| | * If your results are numbers: (time, | ex) drawing of experiment plants | |

| | number of people, height, distance) | ex) photo. of the cat scratching can | |

| | You need to do two things - | | |

| | 1. Show a data table. | See your teacher if you need help | |

| | 2. Make a graph of your data. | making a graph. | |

|Analysis | what the data shows you | bulleted statements or a paragraph | |

|10 points | trends, increases, decreases, averages, range, etc. | that highlights the data | |

| | One page that answers the following: Was your | ex) My hypothesis was wrong, | |

|Conclusion | hypothesis correct? Based on your research | the cat was able to find his food in | |

|20 points | why do you think your experiment turned out the | the closed plastic container…….. | |

| | way it did? Were their sources of error? | These results are supported by my | |

| | What did you learn from the experiment? | prior research because… | |

| | Your display is organized and colorful. Each | Ex.) Title is typed on the computer, | |

|Neat and Attractive | project part is labeled clearly. Every piece added | neatly cut out and pasted to the | |

|5 points | to the display is typed, neat, and attractive. | board. | |

You must create a neat and attractive display for your project to receive full credit. Projects must be displayed on a three-fold board. All of the following should be part of your project display. Use this paper as a check-off list to make sure you have put everything on your display board. 10 points will be deducted for each day the display is late. Don’t forget your name, class, and the date on the back of your display!!!

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download